Quest for the Enchanted Crystal
by larvirawr
Summary: The cats of Starclan have warned of a new prophecy, and it's the most dire yet. The savages of the Dark Forest have defeated the Cat God, Felis, trapping him in a crystal for all eternity. Until he is freed, none of the cats from the four clans, or beyond, will ever be able to bear kits. The end of all feline-kind is nearing.
1. Allegiances

ALLEGIANCES

WINDCLAN  
 **Leader:** Dapplestar - Brown tortoiseshell she-cat with hazel eyes.  
 **Deputy:** Crookedtail - Long-furred, dark gray tom with a twisted tail, long claws, and brown eyes.  
 **Medicine Cat:** Blazeleaf - White she-cat with deep orange patches and blue eyes.  
 **Medicine Cat Apprentice:** Dewtail- Long-furred, midnight black she-cat with a scarred nose and white eyes.  
 **Warriors**  
Bouldercloud - She-cat with glossy, long, black fur and dark brown spots. She has lavender eyes.  
Feathersong - She-cat that has a soft brown pelt with darker patches, and gray-blue eyes.  
Molesong - Black-pelted tom with green eyes  
Stormfrost - She-cat with a short, soft, ginger pelt, with darker spots, and green eyes  
Plumpelt - Short-furred black tom with a bobtail and mysterious, blue eyes  
 **Queens  
** Talonleap - She-cat with short, white fur and hazel eyes  
 **Elders  
** Heatherfang - Brown pelted she-cat with blue-gray eyes  
Pearstep - Tom with short, creamy-white fur and bright green eyes

RIVERCLAN  
 **Leader:** Adderstar - White, thick-furred she-cat with a long tail and green eyes.  
 **Deputy:** Tallfrost - Silver and gray tabby-striped she-cat with green eyes.  
 **Medicine Cat:** Ravenfern - Black, thick-furred tom with mysterious, blue eyes.  
 **Warriors**  
Finchflame - Tom with long, black fur and bright amber eyes.  
Reedshade - She-cat with long, snowy white fur and bright hazel eyes.

SHADOWCLAN  
 **Leader:** Rubystar - Tom with bright orange tabby fur and bright yellow eyes.  
 **Deputy:** Embernose - Tom with short, soft brown fur and red eyes.  
 **Medicine Cat:** Deerface - Tom with short silver fur and dark hazel eyes.  
 **Warriors**  
Tinyspeck - Ruddy brown tabby tom with green eyes.  
Lionlegs - Tom with long, dark tabby fur and light amber eyes.

THUNDERCLAN  
 **Leader:** Lavenderstar - Smokey blue she-cat with a white underbelly and hazel eyes.  
 **Deputy:** Crowleaf - Short furred, black she cat with mysterious blue eyes, long legs and long claws.  
 **Medicine Cat:** Lightningsong - Tom with a short, messy silver pelt and a white chest. He has red eyes.  
 **Warriors**  
Marigoldstripe - Golden tabby she-cat with hazel eyes.  
Wolfspirit - Tom with long, gray fur and bright yellow eyes.

PLACE OF NO STARS  
 **Leader:** Mintbranch - Cream tabby tom with hazel eyes  
Yellowear: Golden tom with light amber eyes. Former medicine cat.


	2. Prologue

PROLOGUE

Glistening fangs and shimmering claws tore through the shadows of the Dark Forest. The mass of foggy bodies had finally surrounded their target. As they closed in, their eyes glowed with mixtures of triumph, blood-thirst, and hatred. Before their victim could make a move in protest, three cats leapt to pin him down and the others shifted to block his escape.

Finally, a muscular, cream tabby emerged to face the defeated cat, head held high. His eyes glinted with pleasure as he watched his victim struggle to lift his gaze with his head pinned to the dirt.

"We've done it," he boomed. "We've achieved what no cat before us has, and now, what no cat will ever achieve again." He flicked his tail powerfully. "You may come forth, Yellowear."

A second cat with a golden coat broke the circle, holding a stick in his mouth and an assortment of herbs under his chin. Rapidly, he set the herbs down and began etching at the ground to carve strange, deep patterns. His jaws clenched the stick harder and his eyes blazed as the design neared completion. Tossing the stick aside, he began yowling a chant in a language no other cats from the Dark Forest could understand.

Finished, Yellowear backed away and snarled out an order. Obediently, the three cats shifted the body of their prey, who'd given up struggling, into the center of the etched design.

Clouds of vibrant colors exploded from his body. The cream tom, Mintbranch, slanted his eyes towards Yellowear. Was that confusion he detected from the medicine cat's expression?

Yellowear gave nothing away as the fumes dispersed, and he silently swept the herbs he'd brought into the victim's gaping mouth, nodding to signal that the ritual had concluded.

"The Place of No Stars claims victory!" yowled Mintbranch.

All the gathered cats yowled in approval, claws slicing the air, eyes gleaming as they watched the body of their capture dissolve into a silver mist...


	3. Chapter 1

"Keep trying, Talonleap! Your kits are almost here!"

The white-pelted queen, splayed on the floor of the gorse den, shook frantically as her breath increasingly quickened.

"I feel the first one coming out!" the medicine cat exclaimed, kneading at Talonleap's side. "Dewtail, get in position!"

Her apprentice, a fluffy, midnight-black she-cat, obediently pounced into position beside the queen's quivering flank. Just moments later, a slimy, dark shape started to slither out. Dewtail gently nipped at it and dragged it towards her paws, licking furiously at its protective sack. She stole a glance back to her mentor, Blazeleaf, a white she-cat with deep orange splotches. Her blue eyes were fixed on the kit and widened in shock, but she immediately turned away and continued coaxing Talonleap upon being spotted.

Dewtail kept licking and licking at the tiny wet kit as terror started seeping into her bones. No breathing was coming. No heartbeat, no movement, no mewling.

She helplessly glanced back at her mentor, but Blazeleaf was already busy delivering the second kit. "Lick him like you mean it!" She ordered the queen. Dewtail felt a chill as she noticed how eerliy still the second tom looked, but she prayed to Starclan that her frantic mind was just playing tricks on her.

Blazeleaf expertly sniffed and pawed at Talonleap's belly, which seemed to be heaving less as the queen returned to normal breathing. "It's over, Talonleap. You've done well," she finally announced, before padding over to Dewtail with sorrow in her eyes.

"You've done well too," she whispered to her apprentice.

"Blazeleaf, he's dead!" Wailed the queen.

Blazeleaf lifted the first kit up from between Dewtail's paws and placed his body next to his brother's. "I'm afraid they both are. Your litter is stillborn. I'm sorry, Talonleap." She brushed the queen's cheek and flicked her tail at her apprentice, signalling for Dewtail to follow her outside.

"Spiderkit and Acornkit..." Talonleap's voice shook as she buried her muzzle into her kits' delicate fur.

Blazeleaf brushed against the queen's black-pelted mate, Molesong. "Go see her."

A she-cat with a soft brown pelt and darker patches bounced towards them next. "What happened?" She mewed. "Is my brother a father?"

"I'm afraid not, Feathersong," Blazeleaf sighed.

Dewtail solemly padded towards the medicine den, curling into a ball besides the rocky enterence. As news spread, the air in the Windclan lake camp grew thick with silence and sorrow. Cats that normally pranced with the wind at their heels were now trudging around with their heads and tails hung low, speaking only in low murmers.

"Let all Windclan cats gather here beneath Tallrock for a meeting!" The ancient words yowled by Dapplestar pierced through the camp and the rolling hills beyond.

Their tortoiseshell-pelted leader was sitting tall, atop the highest boulder in camp. Her shoulders were squared, and her head was held high, with her unreadable hazel eyes gleaming into the distance.

"As I'm sure most of you have heard by now," Dapplestar began, "Talonleap's litter was stillborn. Spiderkit and Acornkit watch down on us from Starclan. Tonight, we will sit vigil in their honor."

Some of the cats below muttered their condolences before their leader continued.

"We suffered empty stomaches in Leafbare, and now that Newleaf has come, it's unfortuate that we now must suffer from empty hearts. But Windclan is strong. We can persivere through any loss." Dapplestar nodded and leapt down, signalling that the meeting was over.

"Two completely stillborn litters in a row," Dewtail overheard from one of the elders, Heatherfang. "Can you believe it? First with Stormfrost's litter, and now Talonleap's... how awful." The brown-pelted she-cat shook her head with disbelief.

"It must be an omen from Starclan," replied another elder, Pearstep.

 _I suppose I should ask Blazeleaf if she needs help collecting rosemary for the burial ceremony..._ thought Dewtail, padding towards the medicine den.

"Blazeleaf, are you in there?"

"Yes, Dewtail. Come in."

"Don't you need help collecting rosemary, again?"

"If you'd like to accompany me," Blazeleaf replied, while busily sorting herbs. There seemed to be a hint of understanding behind her words. She got up and stretched, then headed outside into the soft daylight, Dewtail following.

Once they were out of camp, Dewtail could finally burst out her question. "Wasn't there any chance those kits could have survived?" she wailed. "Do you think maybe I pulled the first one out too rough, or-"

Blazeleaf flicked her tail onto her apprentice's mouth to silence her. "Kits are fragile, but not that much. No, Dewtail. There was nothing you could have done. And now that I think about it," she mused, "Talonleap must have known there was something wrong with her litter. She seemed worried, and she never told anyone how she could feel them wriggling in her belly. Since it was her first pregnancy, she must have been afraid to ask if that were normal. She may not have wanted to know the truth."

"Maybe if she told us, we could have given her some type of herb..."

Blazeleaf shook her head. "Don't be ridicuous. There's no herb that can revive the dead."

They arrived at a spiny, aromatic bush that was heavily dotted with blue-violet flowers. Dewtail nipped off a tiny branch and watched as Blazeleaf did the same.

Dewtail suddenly swiveled around upon hearing a screech, and spotted her littermate, Bouldercloud, contronting a confused outsider near the edge of their territory.

"Didn't you smell our border barks, you stupid kittypet?" Without waiting for an answer, she pounced and slashed their shoulders, causing them to dash off yowling in terror.

"What do you think you're _doing_?" shrieked Dewtail, unsheathing her claws and pounding her way over. "You didn't even give that kittypet a warning!"

"Uh, I _think_ I'm defending my territory, _Doodoo_ tail" retorted Bouldercloud. "I get that you're a peaceful medicine cat and all, but this is warrior business, so bug off!"

Dewtail rolled her eyes. Her sister still acted like a 'paw!

"Get back over here and let's go!" yelled Blazeleaf. Dewtail reluctantly obeyed, slashing her tail wildly with annoyance. She felt guilty once she noticed that her mentor was now carrying double the amount of rosemary under her chin. She must have dropped her batch when she went bolting off.

"Bouldercloud's right, you know," Blazeleaf started when they were far enough away. "Fighting is a part of clan life. You may have the nurturing heart of a medicine cat, but your duty is to your clanmates."

Dewtail felt hot under her pelt. "Yeah, I guess I am being a bit sensitive..." She shook herself off. "What am I going to do next? Claw someone's ears for hunting a rabbit?"

******

Two tiny bundles lay at the heart of Windclan camp that night. Dewtail sat with her tail wrapped neatly around her, directing her gaze to the open, clear skies that stretched endlessly above. She wondered which warrior ancestors may have guided the kits to Starclan.

She noticed that Stormfrost and Talonleap were laying pressed closely together, even though Stormfrost, as every cat knew, was the least sympathetic of anybody in the whole clan.

 _Stormfrost lost her litter the same way, less than a moon ago. She understands exactly what kind of greif Talonleap feels._

Feeling restless, Dewtail excused herself from the vigil early. She headed out onto the moor and spent some time visiting the sparsley scattered shrubs to collect cobwebs. She didn't come back to the medicine den until her tail looked like a giant, silky cacoon.

******

Thick, silver-gray fog hazed over an endless meadow, thicky flourishing with poppies and lush, green hedges. A cloudy shape of a cat emerged from ahead, and as it got closer, Dewtail could make out a dark, starry tabby coat pierced with yellow eyes.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The tom's wiskers twitched. "My name is Rosestar," he said. "Dapplestar used to be my deputy, you know, back when her name was Dapplepad."

"Oh!" Dewtail squeaked. "Sorry," she added quickly, licking her chest in embarassment. "I was very young when you lost your last life. Does this mean I'm in Starclan? Do you have a message for me?"

"Yes," Rosestar nodded, his eyes suddenly darkening. "You must know this. _Only with new blood may old blood spill._ "

The soft ground started to slip from beneath Dewtail's paws before she could ask any more questions. The beautiful red poppies had melted and sunk into bloodstains, and the distant hedges were starting to look like battered pelts, resembling fallen clanmates. The fog deepened and the former Windclan leader started to fade in its depths." _Only with new blood may old blood spill,_ " he repeated. "Remember."

Dewtail awoke with a start in her wooly nest. She nearly panicked when she saw strange shadows flickering on the stony walls of the medicine den, but her fur lay flat again when she made out the voices of Dapplestar and Blazeleaf. Intrigued, she perked her ears to hone in the sounds more clearly.

"Some of our warriors speculate that the two stillborn litters in a row could be an omen from Starclan. Have you had any signs to confirm this?"

Blazeleaf sighed. "No, Dapplestar. Starclan has not chosen to share anything with me."

Dewtail's heart quickened as she remembered her dream.

"Do you think Starclan is angry with us?"

Though no cat could see her, Dewtail shook her head. _Rosestar didn't seem angry... did he?_

"I haven't a clue," replied Blazeleaf. "Remember, it could just be a cooincidence, or maybe an unidentified sickness. I'm visiting the moonpool tonight with Dewtail and the other medicine cats. Perhaps Starclan will give us some closure then."

"Very well. Please report your findings to me when you get back."

Dewtail heard what she assumed to be Dapplestar's pawsteps fade away. She got up and stretched, ready to share her dream with Blazeleaf, but something stopped her.

 _Why would Starclan share something so important with me and not her? I'm just the apprentice. I'm probably just having nightmares._


End file.
